Liverpool was named Thursday as the location for the permanent home of Britain's first national museum of popular music.

The British Musical Experience will open next spring and is expected to attract 200,000 domestic and international visitors a year to the city.

The museum, run by a charity trust, was based for five years until last year in a temporary home in the 02 Arena, the one-time Millennium Dome, in Greenwich, London.

Trustees of the charity have been searching for a permanent home for its collection of iconic and rare items charting the history of pop music from the 1940s.

Liverpool is already renowned across the world as a music city since the 1960s when it was at the center of a revolution in the pop industry with the so-called Mersey Beat, headed by the Beatles. The group became one of the most successful bands ever on the international stage.

One of the city's major waterfront buildings at the epicenter of its World Heritage Site, the Cunard Building, will become the home of the museum, city mayor Joe Anderson announced Thursday.

As well as its unrivalled collection of music artefacts and memorabilia, the museum will also pay homage to the impact British music has had on the culture, fashion, art and politics of the time.

Mayor Anderson, said: "This is a fantastic addition to the city's existing attractions and it makes perfect sense that a museum which celebrates the importance of British music and its influence on society, has its home in Liverpool." Endit

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